ABSTRACT
Alpha 1-antitrypsin (c^AT) is a 52 kDa alpha 1-glycoprotein that is produced by hepatocytes and secreted into the blood, where it acts as a circulating serine protease inhibitor (1-4). It is a prototypical “suicide” protease inhibitor that combines with its complementary serine protease-be it polymorphonuclear leukocyte serine protease or pancreatic elastase-resulting in its own elimination from the plasma.
